R&J William Shakespeare Notes
William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford.
Shakespeare was one of seven children born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden.
Shakespeare's father may well have been illiterate, despite achieving a high rank in business and politics.
Later in life Shakespeare's father fell on hard times and had debts, but it is likely his son attended King's New School in Stratford for free because of his temporary status.
William married a woman nearly twice his age. Anne Hathaway was 26 years old when William married her at age 18.
Shakespeare went to London to find work in theatres as an actor.
At that time London was a very busy and disease-ridden city. People there were dying faster than they were born.
The city was also a vibrant place with a thriving thirst for entertainment. There were many temporary stages and theatres and the first permanent stage venue, called The Theatre, was opened in 1576 on the banks of the Thames. It was replaced by The Globe Theatre in 1599.
In 1593 a plague hit London and all public events - including theatre productions - were forbidden until the following year. Shakespeare turned to poetry during this time, producing dark and gruesome tales.
More dark writing were to come in 1596 when Shakespeare's only son, Hamnet, died. Despite being at the height of his fame in London, Shakespeare started to write unsettling plays such as Macbeth, King Lear, Othello and Anthony and Cleopatra.
Wrote 37 plays and composed 154 sonnets. William was also an actor who performed many of his own plays as well as those of other playwrights (Ben Jonson).
As an actor performing his own plays, William performed before Queen Elizabeth I and later before James I who was an enthusiastic patron of his work.
Suicide (13), Racism, and Anti-Semitism repetitive themes.
Shakespeare's sonnets were written for men.
His plays were written to be performed, not read!
Nickname = The Bard
He invented about 1,700 words in the English language. A remarkable number of the phrases and words we use every day first appeared in Shakespeare's work. Shakespeare converted verbs into adjectives or nouns into verbs whenever it suited him. Amazingly, his linguistic inventions stuck, and we still use them today.
Shakespeare is always referred to as an Elizabethan playwright, but as most of his most popular plays were written after Elizabeth’s death he was actually more of a Jacobean writer. His later plays also show the distinct characteristics of Jacobean drama.
It was illegal for women and girls to perform in the theatre in Shakespeare’s lifetime so all the female parts were written for boys.
Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 - his 52nd birthday. He was buried at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford.
It is believed his self-penned epitaph was:
"Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And curst be he that moves my bones."
Comedy | History | Tragedy | Poetry |
Romeo & Juliet Act I
Purpose of opening scene
Draw audience attention
Provide background information
(Montague and Capulet hatred & feud)
Characterizations
Benvolio - thoughtful and fearful of law
Tybolt - hothead
Romeo - lovesick
Nurse- familiar/close with Juliet
Lady Capulet - ineffective/flighty
Themes
Masculine honor
Nobility
Young woman's status
Parental Influence
Fate
Puns and double representations
Love at first sight
Monday, March 05, 2012
11:22 PM
What modern musical is an adaptation of R & J?
Analysis
• What are the main events of importance?
• Which characters are involved in the sub-plot and how does the sub-plot relate to the chief plot of the play?
• How do the characters relate to one another?
• What motivates the central characters?
• What does the play tell us about life and our ability to control our own destiny?
Sampson and Gregory- two servants of the house of Capulet
Sampson bites his thumb (a highly insulting gesture)
A verbal confrontation quickly escalates into a fight
Benvolio, a kinsman to Montague, enters and draws his sword in an attempt to stop the confrontation. Tybalt, a kinsman to Capulet, sees Benvolio’s drawn sword and draws his own.
Montague and Capulet enter, and only their wives prevent them from attacking one another.
Prince Escalus arrives and commands the fighting stop on penalty of torture.
The Prince declares the violence between the two families has gone on for too long, and proclaims a death sentence upon anyone who disturbs the civil peace again.
Romeo reveals to Benvolio his love for Rosaline; she does not return his feelings and has in fact sworn to live a life of chastity.
Paris reveals desire to Capulet to marry Juliet who is 14
Capulet dispatches servant Peter with list to invite people to his party
Peter cannot read and happens to stop Romeo and ask him to read the list
Romeo scores an invite and accepts because he sees Rosaline on the list
Romeo, Benvolio, and their friend Mercutio, all wear masks to the feast
Foreshadowing - Romeo's bad dream about the feast
Romeo and Juliet meet, kiss and discover they are enemies
Round Characters (dynamic) - have many personality traits (multidimensional)
Flat Characters (static) - are one-dimensional, embodying only a single trait (do not change)
Provide comic relief
Dramatic Foils - highlight or bring out the personality traits of another character in a play
No comments:
Post a Comment